Golden Gate Wine Cellars
Retail Showroom Address:
2337 Ocean Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94127
Tel: 415.337.4083
E: frank@goldengatewinecellars.com
W: http://www.goldengatewinecellars.com/
Our Motto: Always Drink Good Wine!
August 1, 2008
Frank’s Wine Week in review.
We are one month into the opening of our new showroom, and have met many new local faces. When your work, pleasure or wine country visit would bring you to California, please stop by and visit us!
Lots of excitement on the wine front to announce this week.
Every week I taste a bunch of wine, and this week I had some decent, good, and outstanding wines. It is the outstanding that I look for. So you see, I do “your” homework. I tasted 120 wines and came up with about 10 gems! Someone has to do the dirty work, and it might as well be me.
Carter Cellars wines are made by Nils Venge and Jeff Fontanella. All small lots from either their estate or some high-end well regarded vineyards are produced. I tasted through six of their newly released wines and three made the grade – see below.
Carter Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Coliseum Block- Napa
Retail 130.00 – GGWC 115.00
The 2006 Coliseum Block Cab is another in an impressive line of well-behaved brutes. Massive, dense black fruits pull in alongside currants, dried herbs, plums, and bittersweet chocolate to form a powerhouse Cabernet that brings the senses to attention. Only 243 cases produced.
Carter Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer/ToKalon - Napa Valley
Retail 130.00 – GGWC 115.00
The last two vintages of this wine from the legendary original To Kalon vineyard have garnered Spectator ratings of 95 and 96 points respectively. The ’06 could very well be a 97! This wine is a seamless montage of cassis and dark berries, with alluring notes of spice inviting the senses ever deeper into the wine’s many-nuanced flavors. Dense and concentrated, this Cab delivers the size, length, and depth one would expect from a truly great wine.
Carter Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Revilo Napa Valley
Retail 100.00 – GGWC 89.99
I would say that this is the most elegant, approachable of the bunch. This elegant wine shows off a bright, red fruit core, tempered with superbly integrated tannins. A profusion of berries, currant, and spice flavors drape themselves over a fine structure, ending in a stylish, long-drawn finish.
Grassi 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Retail 65.00 – GGWC 56.00
The 2005 is the first release of Grassi Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine makes a strong first impression with its vibrant dark ruby color, nearly opaque, and still with a touch of purple. The aromas are complex: black cherry, allspice, cinnamon, ripe plum, cassis, coffee, and ginger. The flavors are lively, refreshing, and fresh, with a firm structure and the appropriate degree of acidity to wake up the palate. The alcohol level is very modest for California Cabernet.
Hirsch 2006 Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Retail 65.00 – GGWC 56.00
Only 376 cases of this amazing wine were produced. Upon opening, deep earth, loam aromas emerge against a background of bergamot, black tea, Bing cherry, and a touch of toastiness. The big, broad mouthfeel harbors flavors of ripe plums and rich cherries. It is full and plush. Supported by healthy tannins, its nice acid balance is fully present through to the long, persistent finish. With air, pronounced pinot notes emerge: leather, tobacco, autumnal earth. The mid-palate broadens and the tannins integrate. David Hirsch is amazing. His knowledge of the terroir blew my mind, and I can see why he could talk for hours about this wine – it is amazing!
Dutton Goldfield 2006 Zinfandel, Morelli Lanem, Russian River Valley
Retail 45.00 – GGWC 38.00
The long, cool 06 growing season well suited the old vines at Morelli Lane, giving them plenty of time to perfectly ripen. This wine displays the soft elegance and bright raspberry/cherry fruit that makes it so prized. The 06 is a particularly easy drinking version of the old vine Zin, with its moderate alcohol, exceptionally supple tannins and bright acidity. On the nose it shows the classic Morelli frambois, coupled with lots of Bing cherry and some toasty overtones. It follows with candied cherry along with a bit of spice and toffee in the mouth, and lingers with sweet tannins and berry fruit. Its elegant balance yields a perfect pairing with foods like lasagna, many cheeses, and just about anything off the barbeque. 248 cases produced.
Vogelzang 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Barbara
Retail 30.00 – GGWC 26.00
Elegant intensity is the most appropriate way to describe the 2007 offering. This wine bursts with distinct and clear fruit expressions of pineapple, pear, and lime, complimented with a wonderful minerality reminiscent of Bordeaux Blanc that we now recognize as a classic Vogelzang Vineyard aroma profile. The mouthfeel is amazingly broad and rich, yet it maintains an excellent natural acidity true to the varietal. Seamlessly elegant from start to finish.
Lattanzio 2006 Pinot Noir, W.E. Bottoms, Russian River Valley
Retail 41.00 – GGWC 33.99
This very small, 3 acre vineyard is located near the town of Occidental in the coolest part of the appellation. This great Pinot Noir is light ruby to purple color. It offers aromas of dried herbs, a hint of clove, and fresh red cherries. Medium bodied with good concentration, silky texture and flavors of red raspberry and cranberry. Finishes firm with refreshing acidity and lingering silky tannins. 230 cases produced.
Lattanzio 2006 Syrah Fredrick Ranch, Sonoma Coast
Retail 40.00 – GGWC 31.50
Only 100 cases of this puppy were produced, and I can tell you that every drop of this juice was meticulously selected and evaluated before it was bottled. This stellar wine possesses a deep plum color that is accompanied by aromas of smoked meats, black cherries, and black currants. This exquisite, medium to full-bodied, delicious Sonoma Coast Syrah offers good purity and length as well as a broad, dense concentration, and velvet-textured mouthfeel. Enjoy it over the next 4-6 years.
Dillon 2005 Chardonnay, Estate Yountville Napa Valley
Retail 26.00 – GGWC 21.00
Only 250 cases of this stainless steel fermented (FYI – no oak!) were produced. It offers a fresh kiwi, guava-like aroma with similar tropical flavors on the palate. The wine is full in body with a bright, balanced acidity that generates an appealing mouthfeel and leaves a lingering finish on the palate.
Esoterica 2007 Riesling, Rossi Vineyard Rutherford Napa
Retail 20.00 – GGWC 17.00
Only 340 cases of this wine were produced. Enjoy this wine; it offers the perfect balance between sweetness and acid. It has a lovely nose as only Riesling can, and the flavor is full of flowers and fruit. Comically enough, as young as this wine is now, I think that it will age very gracefully for many years. To me it has the characteristics that a Riesling needs to sit in the bottle and get better and better, just like some older Mosel Riesling would.
Our New York wine tasting (10.11.08) is selling out fast. To buy tickets for the New York tasting, click on the following link or paste it into your browser http://www.localwineevents.com/New-York-City-Wine/event-191259.html
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